Oscillator ink roller mounting and control means



United States Patent Inventor Carl E. Bohman Chicago, Illinois Appl. No.700,171

Filed Jan. 24, 1968 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 Assignee Miehle-Goss-DexterIncorporated Chicago, Illinois a corporation of Delaware OSCILLATOR INKROLLER MOUNTING AND CONTROL MEANS 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 101/352 Int. Cl r r B41f31/34 Field of Search l0 1 349 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 970,000 9/1910 Waite 101/3522,635,539 4/1953 Peyrebrune 101/352 3,186,338 6/1965 Peyrebrune etal...l0l/352 3,323,452 6/l967 Pasquinelli 101/352 Primary Examiner- Robert E.Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-4. Reed Fisher Attorney-Hume, Clement, Hume &Lee

ABSTRACT: A self-oscillating roller which is adapted to coact with twoform rollers mounted for pivoting motion about respective spaced axes,has its journals mounted in sockets which are supported by rigid linkspivotally connected to the respective form roller brackets and to saidsockets. Adjustable eccentrics provide adjustability for establishingand thereafter maintaining the desired contact relation between theoscillator roller and the respective coacting form rollers.

Patented 'Nov. 10, 1970.

Sheet INVENTOR CARL E. BOHMAN ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 10, 1970 3,538,849

Sheet 2 012 ",INVENTOR CARL E. BOHMAN BY awe MM: Za-

ATTORNEYS The invention pertains to inking mechanisms for printingpresses. More specifically, it is directed to an improved mountingarrangement for an oscillator roller in the inking mechanism of avariable cutoff web press.

In conventional web or sheet fed printing presses the inking mechanismsgenerally include a plurality of form inking rollers to effect finaltransfer of the ink to the plate carried by the plate cylinder. Usuallyfour form inking rollers are employed and these are arranged in pairswith each pair being mounted for pivoting motion about the axis of arespective coacting vibrator roller so that they can be adjusted andtripped on and off relative to the plate cylinder.

It is also common practice to employ an oscillator roller which islocated intermediate and is adapted to run in contact with the adjacentrollers of the respective pairs of form rollers to thereby improve thedistribution of the ink and to maintain a balanced condition as regardsthe amount of ink carried on the surfaces of the respective formrollers. To facilitate the insertion and removal as well as theadjustment and tripping motions of the form rollers it has been thepractice to mount the journals of the oscillator roller in simpleguideways or the like on the press side frames so that it can readily beremoved and which provide clearance for the oscillator roller to shiftwith the form rollers when the latter are tripped. Merely the force ofgravity or in some instances, resilient springs are employed to maintainthe oscillator roller in contact with the respective coacting formrollers.

This mounting arrangement for the oscillator roller has been relativelysatisfactory for conventional presses having a fixed diameter platecylinder which is mounted for rotation about a fixed axis. Under thesecircumstances, the positions of the form rollers are relatively fixedand the oscillator roller can be mounted so that its axis will remainparallel and in substantially perpendicular alignment with the axis ofthe plate cylinder. Consequently, gravity and/or simple spring meanswill maintain the contact relation between the oscillator roller and therespective form rollers substantially equal and since the oscillatorroller is required to move only a limited distance when the form rollerstrip, the simple guideways afford adequate flexibility.

The conventional mounting means are completely inadequate for a variablecutoff web press, however, because they do not provide the flexibilityof motion for the oscillator roller which is necessary to accommodatethe rather substantial displacement of the form rollers when platecylinders of different diameters are interchanged. Moreover, once theoscillator roller is shifted from its balanced position in alignmentwith the plate cylinder, simple spring means and/or the force of gravityalone cannot be relied upon to maintain the desired contact relationbetween the oscillator roller and the two form rollers.

Modern web presses also generally incorporate means for skewing orinclining the axis of the plate cylinder relative to the coactingblanket or impression cylinder for register purposes, and this requiresa corresponding shift in the positions of the form and oscillatorrollers in order to assure uniform ink distribution. While means havebeen developed for shifting the form rollers together with the platecylinder when the latter is skewed, the known oscillator roller mountingmeans are incapable of this function and therefore the distribution ofink is adversely affected when such plate cylinder adjustments are made.

The present invention obviates the shortcomings of the known devices byproviding improved mounting means for an oscillator roller whichpositively maintains the center distance between the oscillator rollerand the respective coacting form rollers in all positions and during anymovement of said form rollers. This is accomplished by employingimproved socket means for the journals of the oscillator roller whichare supported by rigid members pivotally connected to the respectiveform roller brackets so that the oscillator roller will move in preciseunison with either one or both of the form rollers. The socket meansalso includes adjustable members for adjusting the center distancebetween the oscillator roller and the respective form rollers to obtainthe desired squeeze therebetween and the arrangement is such that thesesettings are not affected by any change in the positions of the formrollets.

it is a primary object of this invention, therefore, to provide mountingstructure for an oscillator roller which is capable of establishing andthereafter maintaining a predetermined setting of the oscillator rollerrelative to coacting form rollers.

Another object is to provide mounting structure such as described for anoscillator roller and which is capable of moving the oscillator rollerbodily in unison with the form rollers while maintaining constant thecenter distance between said rollers.

A further object is to provide mounting means which include adjustablemembers for establishing and thereafter positively maintaining apredetermined contact relation between the oscillator-roller and therespective coacting form rollers.

A still further object is to provide mounting structure which willincorporate quick release socket means to facilitate rapid insertion andremoval of the oscillator roller.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings which disclose a preferredembodiment of the invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view taken substantially along the line 1-1of FIG. 2 and illustrating that portion of an inking mechanism to whichthe invention pertains;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the oscillator roller socket atthe drive side of the press;

FlG. 4 is an enlarged view of the socket means at the feed side of thepress; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the extent to which the forminking and oscillator rollers are displaced for the purpose ofaccommodating minimum and maximum size plate cylinders.

With reference now to the drawings, the invention is disclosed asembodied in a web fed printing press of the variable cutoff type whichis adapted to accommodate interchangeable printing cylinders ofdifferent diameters for the purpose of printing a multiplicity ofdifferent size products. The press may be adapted to print by either theoffset or letterpress process and the printing cylinder may beindividually interchangeable or they may comprise part ofinterchangeable modules which are adapted to be readily inserted intoand/or removed from an operative position in the main press frames. Inany event, all of the interchangeable plate cylinders, such as thatindicated by the reference number 10 in FIG. 1, are adapted to be inkedby a common inking mechanism which is a component of the main unit ofthe press and which must be relatively flexible in order to functionefficiently under all cirried by the plate cylinder regardless of thediameter of said cylinder within maximum and minimum limits of thepress.

In the instant embodiment, the train of distributing rollers is adaptedto supply ink to the surface of the vibrator roller 16 from whichsurface it is transferred by the form inking rollers 11 and 12 to theplate on the plate cylinder 10. A portion of the ink is also transferredby means of the oscillator roller 17 to the form inking roller 13 andfrom the latter roller through a second vibrator roller 18 to the forminking roller 14.

With this arrangement it will be evident that the plate cylinder, due toits rotation in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1, receives themajor portion of its ink from the form rollers 11 and 12 which are thefirst to engage the plate and the other form roller 13 and 14 serveprimarily to distribute the transferred ink evenly in a uniform filmover the entire printing area of the plate. In addition to theirdistributing function, however, the form rollers 13 and M also serve tosupply additional ink to the plate in those areas which otherwise wouldtend to become starved and which condition is evident in the finishedprints in a form commonly referred to as ghosting.

It is essential, therefore, that when a press is put into operation, theinking mechanism quickly reach and thereafter maintain a certainbalanced condition so that the respective form inking rollers willfunction continuously to distribute a uniform film of ink over theentire printing area of the plate during each cycle of operation. Thisrequires that the various inking rollers in the entire train beaccurately set relative to the coacting rollers and the form inkingrollers in particular must be set very accurately relative to the plateand the coactlug vihrntor rollers. Moreover, in order for the formrollers l3 and M to consistently perform their final inking anddistributing function it is imperative that the oscillator roller l7remain in constant and uniform contact throughout its entire length withthe adjacent form rollers 12 and 13. Any variation in or loss of contactbetween the oscillator roller and the coacting form rollers will disturbthe balanced condition of the system and affect the quality of the workproduced.

The manner in which the present invention provides the necessary controlof the oscillator roller will now be described with particular referenceto FIGS. I and 2 which disclose the roller mounting means at one sideonly of the press. It will be understood. of course, that substantiallyidentical mounting means are provided for supporting the rollers at bothsides of the press with but minor exceptions which will be explainedhereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 1, the form inking rollers are arranged in pairs withthe rollers ill and 12 being mounted on the respective brackets 19 and20 for pivotal motion about the axis of the vibrator roller 16 whereasthe form rollers 13 and 34 are mounted on the respective brackets 21 and22 for pivotal motion about the axis of the other vibrator roller 18.The brackets 19 and 20 are pivotally mounted on a sleeve bushing 23 inthe frame 24 which also serves to journal the shaft 26 of the vibratorroller 16 and brackets 2i and 22 are similarly mounted. on a sleevebushing 27 in the frame 2 and which serves to journal the shaft 28 ofthe vibrator roller lit A lock nut 29 and washer 30 serve to retain thebrackets in position on the respective bushings.

Each one of the brackets is arranged to be biased toward the platecylinder by suitable resilient biasing means which may be in the form ofsprings, fluid actuated cylinders or the like, not shown, but which areconnected to the brackets by the respective actuating rods 31, 32, 33and 3 4 and which serve to maintain the control cam discs 36, 37, 38 and39 on the respective brackets in contact with respective coacting stops41, 32, 43 and 44 associated with the plate cylinder. Eachinterchangeable plate cylinder has its own set of stops which arelocated at predetermined radii dependent upon the radius of the platecylinder and they coact with the respective cam discs to automaticallylocate the respective form rollers in operative position relative to theplate cylinder upon insertion of the latter into the press. It will thusbe seen that the form rollers are pivotally mounted so that they canreadily be displaced to accommodate plate cylinders of differentdiameters and that they will automatically assume operative positionsrelative to the respective plate cylinders through the coaction of therespective cam discs and coacting stops. For more complete explanationof the function of the cam discs and coacting stops reference may be hadto my copending application Ser. No. 598,983, filed Dec. 5, i966 andentitled Form Roller Setting and Control Means", now U.S. Pat. No.3,448,686, issued .lune 10, 1969.

To support the respective form rollers, each bracket is provided with asocket-assembly at the free end thereof which comprises a socket body 46having an axially projecting, arcuate shaped pocket 47 formed thereonwhich is adapted to receive the outer race of a bearing 48 secured tothe end of the form roller shaft. The bearing is retained in the pocket17 by means of a cap member 49 which is pivotally mounted on the socketbody by means of the pin 51 and is releasably secured in rollerretaining position by the screw 52.

The opposite end of the socket body as is provided with an axiallyprojecting, reduced diameter portion 53 which is formed eccentric to thesocket body and is rotatably mounted in a bore 54 in the respectivebrackets. Worm teeth 56 are provided about the periphery of the portion53 and these teeth have meshing relation with a worm gear 57 which isfixed to a shaft 58 that is rotatable in the bracket. One end of theshaft extends beyond the bracket and it is squared as at 59 toaccommodate a tool for adjustment purposes.

Mounted within the socket body 46 for relative rotation about an axiscoincident with the axis of the form roller is a cylindrical controlmember 61, one end 62 of which is formed on an enlarged radius and hasworm teeth as provided about its periphery. These teeth are adapted tomesh with ti worm gear 64 which is mounted for rotation in the socketbody as on a shaft 66 that extends beyond the socket body and has asquared end 67 to accommodate a tool for adjustment purposes.

The opposite end of the control member 63 extends beyond the socket body46 and it is adapted to support the cam disc 38 which is splined to thecontrol member of for rotation therewith. The entire assembly includesthe socket body 46, the control member 61 and the cam disc such as 33are secured in position on the bracket by means of the bolt 68 whichextends axially through the socket body to receive a nut 69 which actsthrough the spacer bushing 71 to retain the cam disc against axialdisplacement.

The assemblies described thus far are essentially the same for each ofthe form rollers and, as will be described hereinafter, provide meansfor adjusting the respective form rollers relative to the plate cylinderand the coacting vibrator rollers. In addition to this adjustability,the center form rollers, namely 12 and 13 are adapted to provide supportfor the center oscillator roller 17 and, therefore, the respectivecontrol members 61 thereof are somewhat longer and are adapted topivotally support the respective oscillator roller brackets 7 2 and 73.

Bracket 72 is rotatably mounted on the spacer bushing 71 of the socketassembly for the form roller 13 whereas bracket 73 is pivotally mountedon the spacer bushing H of the socket assembly for the form roller 12.These two brackets provide pivotal support for the oscillator rollersocket assembly which essentially consists of a generally cylindricalsocket body 76 which has a reduced diameter portion 7'7 which is formedeccentric with respect to the axis of the socket body and is rotatablymounted in a bore 78 in the bracket 72. Worm teeth 79 are formed in theperiphery of portion 77 and these teeth are adapted to mesh with a wormgear at carried by the bracket 72. The worm gear is mounted on a shaft82 which is rotatable in the bracket and it has a squared end 83extending beyond the end of the bracket for purposes of adjustment.

Projecting laterally from the portion 77 of socket body 76 is anotherportion 84 which is of still further reduced diameter and it is formedabout an axis which is coincident with the axis of the socket body. Thislatter portion is adapted to fit rotatably within an eccentric bore 86in a bushing 87 which in turn is rotatably mounted in a bore 88 in thebracket 73. The bushing 87 has worm teeth 89 about its periphery andthese teeth mesh with a worm gear 91 carried by the bracket 73. Thelatter gear is mounted on a shaft @2 which is rotatable in the bracketand has a projecting squared end 93 by means of which it can readily beadjusted. The socket body 76 is retained in position in the two brackets72 and 73 by means of the bolt 94 which is inserted through the socketbody and receives a retainer 96 which is threaded onto the end thereofto secure the respective members together as a unit.

At the opposite end thereof the socket body 76 has two spaced, parallelaxially projecting cheek plates 97 and 98, see FIGS. 1 and 3, forsupporting the oscillator roller shaft 99 which is provided withflattened areas 101 and 102 at the end thereof so that said shaft can bemounted between the two cheek plates. The shaft is secured in operativeposition at this end by means of a quick release pin 103 which isinserted through aligned holes formed in the cheek plates and the end ofthe oscillator shaft 99, so that the oscillator roller can be quicklyreleased when necessary for access to the form rollers 12 and 13.

The shaft 99 is accordingly fixed so that it does not rotate. However,it will be understood that the oscillator roller 17 is mounted on theshaft 99 in a manner permitting rotation and also providing for axialmovement on the shaft as is well known for rollers of the oscillatortype.

The mounting means for the opposite end of the oscillator roller aresubstantially the same as those just described with the exception thatthe socket body 76 is formed with a centrally disposed cylindricalrecess 104, see FIG. 4, instead of spaced cheek plates. Moreover, theoscillator roller shaft 99 is formed with a rounded knob 106 which fitssnugly in the recess and which permits angling of the roller shaftduring insertion and removal.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that when a new ordifferent plate cylinder is installed in the press and the various forminking rollers are initially made ready they must be adjusted to obtaina predetermined squeeze against the plate cylinder and the coactingvibrator roller. This is accomplished by first adjusting the worm gear57 to effect rotation of the socket body 46 in the bracket 21. Since theportion 53 thereof is eccentric with respect to the socket body suchadjustment will adjust the socket body and therewith the form rollertoward or away from the vibrator roller until the desired squeeze isobtained.

Once this setting is completed the worm gear will retain the socket bodyagainst unintended movement and the center distance between the formroller and the vibrator roller will remain constant regardless of anypivoting motion of the bracket 21 about the vibrator roller axis.

Next, the form roller must be adjusted relative to the plate cylinder toachieve optimum distribution of the ink over the image areas of theplate. As explained hereinbefore, the form rollers are biased toward theplate cylinder by resilient means and the contact relation between theform rollers and the plate cylinder is controlled by the cam discs 38and coacting stop 43. The periphery of the cam disc is of spiralconfiguration and therefore by rotating said disc relative to the socketby means of the worm gear 64, the effective radius thereof can beadjusted until the desired squeeze between a form roller and the plateis obtained. Here again this setting will remain fixed regardless of anypivoting motion of the form roller about the vibrator roller due to theinherent self locking nature of the worm and worm teeth.

Insofar as the form rollers are concerned once the foregoing settingsare completed they are ready for operation with plate cylinders of anydiameter. However, the oscillator roller must be accurately set relativeto the form rollers 12 and 13 to obtain the necessary balance anddistribution through. the system. Adjustment of the oscillator roller 17relative to the form roller 13 is effected by rotating the worm gear 81which imparts relative angular motion to the socket body 76. Since theportion 77 thereof is formed eccentric to the socket body it will beseen that the socket body and therewith the oscillator roller 17 will beadjusted toward or away from the form roller 13 until the desiredsqueeze between these two rollers is obtained.

The next step is to adjust the oscillator roller relative to the formroller 12 and this is accomplished by rotating the worm gear 91 which iseffective to rotate the eccentric bushing 87 in the bracket 73 about theconcentric portion 04 of the socket body. This adjustment obviously willalter the center distance between the oscillator roller and the formroller 12 until the desired squeeze therebetween is obtained.

It will be noted that the adjustment of the oscillator roller 17relative to the respective form rollers 12 and 13 is effectedindependently and moreover that the adjustment to one of the formrollers will not disturb the adjustment to the other roller. This is dueto the fact that the portion 84 of the socket body is formed concentrictherewith and therefore when the socket body is rotated to effect anadjustment of the oscillator roller relative to the form roller 13 theportion 84 merely rotates in the bushing 87 and the center distancebetween the oscillator roller and the form roller 12 remains unchangedalthough the bracket 73 may pivot somewhat about the axis of thevibrator roller 16.

By the same token, when the oscillator roller is adjusted relative toform roller 12 it will not disturb its setting relative to form roller13. in this instance the worm gear 91 rotates the eccentric bushing 87relative to the bracket 73 and the socket body 76 to thereby vary thecenter distance between the oscillator roller and the form roller 12 butthe setting between the oscillator roller and the form roller 13 willremain unchanged.

The bracket 72 will pivot however to a limited extent about the axis ofthe vibrator roller 18.

Accordingly, once the respective settings are made it will be apparentthat because of the rigid connections between the form rollers 12 and 13and the oscillator roller 17, the latter roller will move in preciseunison with the form rollers when the latter are tripped off the platecylinder or when their positions are altered, as indicated in FIG. 5, toaccommodate different diametered plate cylinders.

Moreover, when the plate cylinder is skewed for register purposes as byrotating the eccentric bushing which journals the bearing at one end ofthe plate cylinder, it will be understood that the respective stops41-44 will shift in unison therewith.

Since the form rollers are biased toward the plate cylinder they willtend to remain in contact with the stops and thus will move in unisonand maintain uniform contact with the plate cylinder and due to therigid connecting brackets 72 and 73 the oscillator roller will maintainconstant and uniform contact with the two form rollers 12 and 13.

This mounting arrangement provides complete flexibility for theoscillator roller which enables it to assume infinitely variablepositions as indicated by the positions of the coacting form rollerswhile maintaining constant the center distances between the respectiverollers. This constitutes a significant advance over previous oscillatorroller mounting arrangements and provides for optimum ink distributionunder all operating conditions.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention. it willbe recognized that modifications in the arrangement and functions of thevarious elements will become apparent to persons skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended,therefore, to encompass all such modifications as come within the scopeof the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. in a printing press having a plate cylinder, the combinationcomprising, a first form inking roller for transferring ink to a platecarried by the plate cylinder, means mounting said first form inkingroller for pivotal movement about a first fixed axis spaced from theaxis of rotation of said first form inking roller, a second form inkingroller for transferring ink to the plate carried by the plate cylinder,means mounting the second form inking roller for pivotal movement abouta second fixed axis spaced from the axis of rotation of said second forminking roller, said first axis being located in spaced relationship tosaid second axis, a third roller located intermediate and adapted tohave peripheral contact with said first and second form inking rollers,journaling means for supporting said third roller, said journaling meansincluding bracket means pivotally connected between the rotational axisof said third roller and each of the said axes of rotation of therespective first and second form inking rollers for maintaining constantthe center distance between the third roller and the respective forminking rollers when the latter rollers pivot about their respectivefirst and second axis, and means for pivoting said first and second forminking rollers about their respective first and second axis.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said journaling meansincludes adjustable members for selectively adjusting the centerdistance between the third roller and the respective form inkingrollers.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said adjustable memberscomprise coaxially mounted, independently adjustable eccentrics forselectively adjusting the third roller relative to the respective forminking rollers.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the journaling means at oneend of said third roller includes a socket for receiving the adjacentend of the shaft on which the roller is mounted for rotation, thejournaling means at the other end of said roller including spaced,axially projecting flanges, aligned holes formed in said flanges, acorresponding hole formed in the adjacent end of said shaft, and areleasable pin extending through said holes for releasably locking theshaft for said roller in an operative position.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein the end of the shaft whichfits into said socket is formed with a substantially round knob topermit pivoting of the oscillating roller during insertion and removal.

6. In a variable cutoff rotary web printing press of the type adapted toaccommodate interchangeable plate cylinders of varying diameters forprinting variable size products, the

provision of inking mechanism for inking a printing plate carried by anyone of said cylinders comprising a first vibrator roller mounted forrotation about a fixed axis spaced from said plate cylinder. at secondvibrator roller mounted for rotation about a fixed axis spaced from thefirst vibrator roller and also from the plate cylinder, a first formlinking roller, a bracket for the first form inking roller mounted forpivotal movement about the axis of the first vibrator roller, a secondbracket for the second form inking roller mounted for pivotal movementabout the axis of the second vibrator roller, means for automaticallyshifting the first and second form inking rollers about the axes of therespective vibrator rollers upon insertion of a plate cylinder tothereby locate the respective form inking rollers in operative positionrelative to the plate cylinder, an oscillating roller locatedintermediate and adapted to have peripheral contact with the said firstand second form inking rollers, and bracket means pivotally connectedbetween the oscillator roller and the respective first and second forminking rollers for maintaining the contact relation between theoscillator roller and the respective form inking rollers constant forall positions of the said form inking rollers.

7. Mechanism as set forth in claim 6 wherein adjustable means areprovided for adjusting the first and second form inking rollers relativeto their respective vibrator rollers.

8. Mechanism as set forth in claim 6 wherein means are provided foradjusting the respective form inking rollers relative to the platecylinder.

9. Mechanism as set forth in claim 6 wherein means are provided forselectively adjusting the oscillator roller relative to the respectivefirst and second form inking rollers.

